Citigroup, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, has announced that Citi expands Coinbase partnership to allow its extensive network of corporate clients to accept stablecoin payments from customers. This significant development, announced on 2026-09-28, marks a deepening collaboration between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency sector.
The move expands upon an initial October 2025 partnership, which primarily focused on streamlining fiat funding and withdrawals for Coinbase’s on- and off-ramps. Now, the new initiative aims to integrate stablecoin payment capabilities directly into Citi’s merchant-processing services, leveraging Coinbase’s underlying blockchain technology and payment infrastructure.
Why Citi expands Coinbase collaboration
This latest collaboration underscores Citigroup’s long-standing commitment to exploring and implementing distributed ledger technology (DLT) within its core banking operations. The financial giant has dedicated nearly a decade to DLT experimentation, establishing a DLT Center of Excellence to define best practices and standards.
Citi Token Services, which became commercially live in select jurisdictions by October 2024, has already processed close to $1 billion in transactions. This service facilitates near-instant, 24/7 cross-border payments and liquidity management for its institutional clients. It represents a tangible outcome of Citi’s embrace of blockchain solutions.
Furthermore, Citi Innovation Labs developed the Citi Integrated Digital Assets Platform (CIDAP), foundational infrastructure for regulated digital finance. CIDAP supports the issuance, transfer, custody, and programmability of tokenized assets across various blockchains. In June 2026, Citi even launched a service for wealthy and institutional clients to invest in tokenized shares of private companies.
The bank also participated in a Swift blockchain pilot in September 2026, becoming the first U.S. bank to process live transactions on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger. This effort, in collaboration with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), aimed to enhance cross-border payments and liquidity. These initiatives collectively showcase Citi’s methodical approach to integrating digital assets.
Coinbase’s Stablecoin-Centric Vision
For Coinbase, this partnership with Citigroup represents a crucial step in diversifying its revenue streams beyond trading fees. The cryptocurrency exchange views stablecoin payments as a primary driver for future growth, aligning with CEO Brian Armstrong’s forecast that the $300 billion stablecoin market could expand tenfold by 2030.
Coinbase Payments, the platform underpinning this new venture, processes nearly $1 trillion in stablecoin movement annually and holds roughly $20 billion in USD Coin (USDC) on its platform. It provides a comprehensive solution for payments tooling, blockchain infrastructure, stablecoin settlement, and institutional-grade custody. This robust infrastructure is vital for large-scale corporate adoption.
The exchange has been actively forging partnerships to expand its stablecoin payment reach. In June 2026, Coinbase teamed up with MassPay for cross-border stablecoin payouts, enabling USD-to-USDC conversions for enterprise clients. Another financial infrastructure bet came in September 2026, partnering with Moov to bring stablecoin payment acceptance to over 1,000 community banks and credit unions.
These collaborations highlight Coinbase’s strategic intent to position itself as a leading provider of stablecoin infrastructure for both traditional financial institutions and corporations. It’s clear the firm sees stablecoins not just as a trading instrument, but as a fundamental layer for future global payments.
The Growing Appetite for Corporate Stablecoin Payments
The partnership arrives amidst surging interest in stablecoins for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Stablecoins processed an estimated $33 trillion in 2025, a volume that already surpassed the combined activity of Visa and Mastercard. B2B payments alone accounted for $226 billion, or 60%, of identifiable real-economy stablecoin activity in 2025.
This growth represents a dramatic increase from under $100 million per month in early 2023 to over $3 billion per month by mid-2025. Businesses are increasingly recognizing the operational efficiencies that stablecoins offer, including lower transaction costs and significantly faster settlement times, often reducing processes from days to mere minutes.
Unlike traditional banking channels, stablecoins facilitate 24/7 operations, enabling continuous global commerce. This always-on capability is particularly attractive for multinational corporations seeking to optimize their treasury and cross-border payment flows. However, challenges persist, notably the limited integration with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and the evolving regulatory landscape.
Despite these hurdles, the broader financial industry is actively exploring stablecoin integration. Visa has successfully piloted stablecoin settlement, processing over $225 million in volume for participating clients. Mastercard is also testing its own stablecoin settlement models, while Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge in February 2025 and subsequently rolled out stablecoin accounts in 101 countries.
Regulatory Progress and Future Outlook
The increasing institutional adoption of stablecoins is occurring alongside significant advancements in regulatory frameworks globally. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) came into full force in 2024, establishing stringent requirements for stablecoin issuers, including mandates for banking-grade licenses and fully liquid reserves. This comprehensive framework has prompted various reactions, including calls for adjustments to European stablecoin rules from some financial institutions.
In the United States, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act was signed into law in July 2025. This act establishes a federal framework for payment stablecoins, mandating 1:1 reserve backing by high-quality assets and monthly public disclosures. It also requires anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance, with full implementation expected by January 18, 2027.
This regulatory clarity is crucial for fostering greater confidence among large financial institutions like Citigroup. Banks can provide secure interfaces to integrate stablecoin functionality into existing online banking and treasury services. They assist clients in seamlessly moving between fiat and stablecoins, while also ensuring secure custody of digital assets.
While fiat-backed stablecoins dominate the current institutional focus, other models are emerging, such as the use of tokenized stocks backing in certain stablecoin projects.
Brian Foster, Coinbase’s Head of Crypto-as-a-Service, emphasized that the exchange’s strategy focuses on delivering specialized infrastructure for financial institutions. This approach helps traditional players build new products for their clients across trading, custody, payments, and stablecoins. The Citi-Coinbase partnership exemplifies this strategy, effectively bridging traditional financial networks with blockchain-based payment solutions.
Analysts project that stablecoin settlement volume could exceed $50 trillion by 2026, a substantial leap from $33 trillion in 2025. Chainalysis forecasts even higher stablecoin flows, potentially reaching $56. Such growth signals a transformative shift in global payment mechanisms, positioning stablecoins as an increasingly indispensable component of the financial ecosystem.